Apparatus for turning peat blocks.



1 APPARATUS FOR TURNING BEAT BLOGKS.

T. A. MIGHILL.

n rm oumn FILED m3. 27,19 1.

Patented Jan. 23, 1912.

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T. A. MIGHILL. APLARATUS FOR TURIIINGjPEAT BLOCKS. AIYLIOATIOIi IYI'LQD JQB 21, 1 91 1.

1,015,390. Patented Jan. 23,1912.

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COLUMBM PLANUGRAPH CO" WASHINGTON, D. C.

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T. A. MIGHILL.

. APPARATUS FOR TURNING PEAT BLOCKS.-

APPLIUATION FILED 111.11. 21, 1911. 1

- Patented Jan. 23, 1912.

3 SHEETS -SHEET 3.

COLUMBIA PLANUGRAPH COHWASIHNGTON. D. C

' essential principles are not confined to top of the inclined p1ane.

* UNITED srAr -s ornion THOMAS A. MIGI-IILLIOF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FOB TURNING FEAT BLOCKS.

Specification 5r Letters Patent. 7

Patented Jan. 23,1912.

Application filed March27, 1911 Serial No, 617,059. v

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS A. MIGHJLL, residing at Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvementin Apparatus for.

Turning Peat Blocks, of which the following is a specification.

In the system of drying peat forming thesubject-matter of my application for Letters Patent No. 617,060 filed March27,1911 a level-surfaced bed of finely divided dry peat is employed as a drying bed, on which the wet peat reposes while drying. The wet peat is arranged on the drying-bed in blocks, as for instance by a machine such as shown in my application Serial No. 617,061 filed March 27, 1911; and these blocks, when partially dry, are turned over and. the drying operation permitted to continue until completed, when the blocks are picked up and transported from the bed.

This invention has for its object the construction of an apparatus adapted to be operated by power to automatically turnover the partially dried blocks of peat rapidly and uniformly, as the apparatus tadvances,

so that in a short period of time theblocks reposing on a bed of large area may be.

turned over.

In one embodiment of my invention the move up an inclined plane and over the top thereof, whereupon they fall by gravity upon the bed, a turning motion being imparted to them when thus In one embodiment of my invention the block-turning device involves a set of inclined block-lifting fingers and an inclinedblock-turning board, said fingers being arranged and supported so that when moved forward their lower forward ends will pass beneath the blocks successively, and the blocks will be lifted and the succeeding blocks caused to push the blocks ahead of passing over the them up and along the inclined fingers and V turning-board and finally overvthe edge" of; I

said turning-board, whereupon they turn and'fall (by gravity to the-bed. I

Thetop edge of" the block-turning device falling will strike endwise .on the bed, and

will tipi in a rearward direction-1 As the, bloclrs pass from -the top edge of the blockturningdevicea turning. motion is imparted to them so that when they strike the bed they still have a tendency to tip rear-' ward. To further insure the blocks tipping rearward when striking the bed adis arranged but a short distance above the bed, a dlstance not much greater than the length of a block, so that the blocks when vantage is taken of the fact. that the blocks,

wvhenpartially dry, hav inclined" or beveled ends and sides, the tops of the blocks being; of smaller area than the bottoms, due" to shrinkage, and as theblocks fall the acute angled corners of the inclined or beveled, I

endsthereof firststrike the bed, so that the blocks will almost invariably immediately tip oyer in arearward direction.

Figure 1 is a plan view of an apparatus A for turning peat blocksembodying this in venti'on. Fig." 2 is 1 a side elevation of "the same. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary yiew, in sec"-v t-ion,-to be referred to. Figs. 4 and 5, re-

spectively, are conventional plan and sectional views of aportion of a drying-bed with wet peat arranged thereon in the form of blocks. Figs. 6 and 7, respectively, are.

conventional plan and sectional a views of a. drying bed and partially dried peat blocks thereon. Fig. 8 is a view illustrating the manner of turning the blocks. Fig. 9 is a plan view of an apparatus having a modified form of block-turning device;

a represents a dry ingbed of finely divided dry peat,-:a1thoughit may be composedv of any other suitable material, so far as my present invention is concerned. This bed, ashere shown, is prepared between a" pair of rails 72, b, on which the apparatus for turning the blocks on the bed is adapted to p be moved along, by power or otherwise.

c is the main frame of'the block turning apparatus, bearing a set of. wheels cadapt-a ed to run on the rails "72, b, which may be driven by any suitable means, preferably by power, as for instance the aXles'c bearin the wheels may have sprocket-wheels 0 which receive upon them chains c, which pass around sprocket-wheels c, secured to supports it.

a driving-shaft 0, which may be operated by a motor of any suitable description, or may be driven by hand. An electric-motor m is here shown, having a controller m, which takes its current from a power-wire m in any usual or suitable manner.

' Movement of the apparatus along over the drying-bed is necessary to enable it to properly perform its operation.

Referring to the block-turning-device, shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 8, d represents the block-lifting fingers, of which a large number will be employed, all made alike or substantially so, and arranged in parallel, in a row extended transversely with respect to the main frame and to the track on which the apparatus moves. As a convenient form of support for said fingers the block-turning board d may be employed, which is ar-' ranged on a bar d, attached at its ends to the extremities of a pair of parallel arms d pivoted at (Z to the frame. The fingers are made as short bars extended over the turning-board for a short distance, and attached to said board and to the bar which Said fingers are inclined and the turning board (Z10 is correspondingly inclined, and said turningboard extends above the tops of the fingers for a short distance and forms a smooth uninterrupted top edge for the block-turning device over which the blocks are pushed as the apparatus advances.

In lieu of providing a turning-board al the fingers may be supported directly on the bar d, see Fig. 9, and made quite long and extended both forward and rearward of said bar, so that the tops of the fingers serve as a turning-means at the top of the blockturning device, over which the blocks are pushed. Such construction, however, does not present a smooth, uninterrupted turning edge for the blocks.

The arms (Z bearing the block-turningdevice are moved on their pivots to bodily raise and lower said device. As a means to move said arms d rods 6 may be loosely connected to them, see Fig. 3, which extend upward and have screw-threaded upper ends, as c, which extend through screwthreaded center-holes in suitably supported worm-wheels 6 which are arranged in the same plane, and are engaged by the opposite ends of a horizontal worm-shaft 6 arranged transversely with respect to the frame, and which extends from side to side thereof, and has fixed to it a hand-wheel e or other convenient means for turning it. Rotary movement of the worm-shaft in one or the engage vertical plates f fixed to and depending from the main frame.

In operation the block-turning device will be adjusted to the proper elevation whereby the lower forward ends of the fingers will penetrate or just sink into the surface of the bed, far enough to enable the forward ends of the fingers, when advanced, to project beneath the blocks; and the rear edge of the block-turning board, or, in the modification here shown, the rear ends of said fingers are set at an elevation, whereby the distance between said board or fingers and the bed corresponds approximately to the length of a block or thereabout. Slight variations, of course, are immaterial.

As the apparatus is advanced the forward extremities of the fingers project beneath the partially dried blocks, which may have inclined or beveled ends, see Fig. 8, and act tolift said blocks and cause them to pass onto the fingers, and the succeeding blocks push the blocks first lifted ahead of them along on the fingers and the turning-board until finally the blocks fall over the top of said board, turning as they fall, so that usually they strike endwise on the bed, on their acute angled corners, whereupon, owing to their shape and the turning motion imparted to them, they immediately tip over in a rearward direction. The entire turning operation results in turning the blocks bottom side up, and, as will be noted, is accomplished in part by the turning motion obtained in falling from the top of the turning-device, and in part by striking endwise on the bed on their acute angled corners.

I claim 1. In an apparatus for turning peat blocks, the combination of a block-turningdevice comprising a set of inclined fingers to lift the blocks and inclined turning-means at the rear thereof, and means to advance said device to project the forward ends of the fingers beneath the blocks and cause succeeding blocks to push the blocks ahead of them along on the fingers and inclined turning-means and over the top of said inclined turning-means, permitting them to fall by gravity, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus for turning peat blocks, the combination of a blockturningdevice comprising a set of inclined fingers and an inclined turning board, and means to advance said device to project the for ward ends of the fingers beneath the blocks and cause succeeding blocks to push the blocks ahead of them along on the fingers and board and over the top of said board, permitting them to fall by gravity, substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus for turning peat blocks, the combination of a block-turning device having inclined lifting fingers and turning-means, an adjustable frame bearlng said device, means-to ad]ustsa1dframe to difierent elevations, and means to advance the block-turning-device to project the forward ends of the fingers beneath the blocks and cause succeeding blocks to push the blocks ahead of them along on the fingers and turning-means'and over the top of said turning-means, permitting them to fall by gravity, substantially as described.

4. In an apparatus for turning peat blocks having beveled ends, the combination of a block-turning-device having inclined lifting-fingers and turning-means, arranged with the top edge of the turning-means elevated above the drying-field a distance approximately equal to the length of a block, and means to advance said block-turning;

device to project the forward ends of the fingers beneath the blocks and-cause suc-c ceeding blocks to push the blocks ahead of them over the top of vthe turning-means,

permitting them to fall by gravity and their acute angled corners to strike the bed, substantially as described.

5. An apparatus for turning peat blocks comprising a car adapted to run on rails,

a block-turningdevie on said car arrangedcrosswise to the line of motion of the car havingits forward end adjustable with re lation' to the surface ofwa peat-drying b'ed arranged between said rails so as to passv beneath the peat-blocks arranged on said bed, an inclined portion 7. to receive the picked-up blocks, and permit them to pass upwardly, and rearwardly as they are pushed il-by the blocks subsequently picked upfand a rear edge arranged crosswiseto the line of motion of the car from which said r'aisejd blocks are dropped -rearwardly with a'jturning motion which causes them to v fall to" the ground and rest on the reverse side from that on which they rested before being picked" up, and means for raising and lowering said block-turning device, substan- "tia-lly as described. K

a In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of .two subscribing witnesses. V V a THOMAS A. MIGHILL. I

gwitn'esse s: X

B. J. Norms, j

B. DAVIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents e'ach, by addressing'the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

